The Budget-Friendly IKEA Item That Will Solve Your Deep Cabinet Storage Woes

Making the most of every inch of cabinet space can feel a bit like a Tetris game: If you underutilize one section, it can result in a cascading chain of events that wastes even more room. While there are plenty of expensive additions you can install in your cabinets, like complicated pull-out drawers and shelves, these are likely not the most practical solution for homeowners who are on a budget or just want a quick fix to their deep cabinet spaces. If this sounds like you, IKEA's affordable SAMLA items are perfect for organizing your deep cabinets.

No matter your organizational aspirations, the SAMLA series offers affordable bins to help you stay on top of it all. The clear design makes it easy to see what's inside each container for easy inventorying, and the stackable nature of the bins ensures that you can capitalize on every bit of available room. They are available in a variety of sizes, ranging from 1 to 34 gallon capacities. The SAMLA 3-gallon capacity bin is a best seller, costing only $4.99 and offering sizable but manageable dimensions. Unlike smaller storage bins that do not fully take advantage of your cabinets' depth, the SAMLA are nice and deep, meaning you'll get better use of the space. The versatile style of these bins also makes them an ideal choice to store extra towels under your bathroom sink, extra cleaning supplies, hobby resources, or items that are rarely utilized.

How to make the SAMLA lineup work for you

The way in which you use these organizing bins is ultimately your decision, but the good news is that they are easy to put to work in any number of settings. Seldom-used items, such as seasonal cookie cutters or molded cake pans, can be housed within this sized bin. They can also efficiently and effectively store pantry items like flours, seeds, and nuts, keeping the contents protected from going stale or attracting pests. Outside of the kitchen, these containers are a creative storage hack for saving major space in the bathroom: They can hold extra rolls of toilet paper to protect them from moisture, or you can fill a bin with styling items like a hair dryer or flat iron. Alternatively, your hobby cabinets can find harmony with the SAMLA bins, where they can help organize yarn, fabric, and other crafting and creating supplies.

Laundry room cabinets can also benefit from these clear and handy storage containers, holding extra supplies such as dryer sheets, wool dryer balls, lint rollers, and clothespins. If you want to stay extra organized, consider storing small contents (like clothespins) in a plastic baggie to prevent them from getting strewn about the bin. Should you be lucky enough to have deep cabinets in your garage, the SAMLA bins are some of the best IKEA products to help you organize the space. Extra light bulbs, sporting equipment, gardening tools, bags of birdseed, and extra pet food will find a suitable home in these easy-to-manage containers. Best of all, you can rest easy knowing you have not wasted any cabinet space.

Final notes on the SAMLA

There's no doubt that the SAMLA series is one of the most popular container products from IKEA, with a 75% 5-star approval rating out of thousands of reviews. Customers praise the bins, saying that they are a good value for the money, have solid product quality, and are nice-looking. One review says, "These boxes are excellent for storage. They aren't made cheaply like their counterparts and they stack very well, making organization a breeze."

Most customers do give this product high praise, but some critical reviews say that the bins are not the sturdiest, with one stating that the SAMLA will crack if dropped. A number of other reviews say that the bins are too expensive for what you get, with several saying that the bins and lids are sold separately. If you're needing to keep your bins' lids tightly closed, you can pair them with the corresponding SAMLA clip locks ($0.79/4-pack), which help to prevent the larger SAMLA bins' tops from coming off or shifting when being moved around. That being said, if deep cabinets have been getting the best of you, the IKEA SAMLA bins might bring some much-needed order to the chaos.

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